Teochew Memorial Park

Along Orchard Road, Singapore shopping paradise, you will find the iconic shopping and commercial centre known as Ngee Ann City. A look at this Civic Plaza, it seems to resemble a Chinese Tombstone and this might be further enforced by the fact this was formerly a Teochew Cemetery known as 泰山亭 (Tai Shan Ting ) or Tai Suah Ting in Teochew.  However, this is not true accordingly to Raymond Woo the architect of the building.  He drew inspiration from the Great Wall of China with the intent of reflecting the dignity, solidity and strength of Ngee Ann Kongsi. While the building was not modelled after a Teochew tombstone, it was certainly previously cemetery owned by Ngee Ann Kongsi. The Ngee Ann Kongsi is a Teochew affiliated charitable foundation that was set up by Teochew immigrants from China in the late 19th century. It was set up to look after the well-being of early Teochew immigrants and among other things, the Teochews here have a final resting place

Back in the olden days, Ngee Ann Kongsi used to own burial lands or Teochew cemeteries all over the island. However, with the development of Singapore, these cemeteries were excavated or acquired by our government. For the unclaimed remains from these cemeteries which is about 20,000 of them, Ngee Ann Kongsi setup the Teochew Memorial Park to keep these unclaimed cremated remains. It is a 6-acre memorial park located at 569 Yishun Road and tucked between Yishun Columbarium and Chong Pang Combined Temple. This park was formerly known as 广德山 (Guan De Shan) or Kwong Teck Suah in Teochew, a Teochew cemetery.

As one approaches the entrance of the park and look up at the gate, there is a sign in Chinese 新嘉坡潮州公墓(Singapore Teochew Cemetery), a resting place for the Teochews of the past.

After passing the gate and as you turn around, one would notice another four engraved Chinese characters 追思先人 on the other side of the gate. 追思先人(Remembering ancestors) exhorts visitors to remember our early Teochew migrants. This is a reflection of the heavy emphasis Teochews placed on Ancestral Reverence and the park importance to the local Teochew community in honouring their ancestors, early Teochew migrants and overseas Teochew pioneers.

After the gate, you will see an Obelisk standing in the middle of the park with 新嘉坡潮州公墓 engraved right down the Obelisk.

This park is usually closed to the public and only opened during Ching Ming or Tomb Sweeping Day (清明节), Hungry Ghost Festival  (中元节) and Winter Solstice (冬节). On these occasions, Ngee Ann Kongsi will organise prayer ceremonies with representatives from the Teochew Clans as well as Poit Huay Kuan (八邑会馆) to remember these Teochew pioneers.

It is a pity that the park is only open on 3 occasions during the year and there is no notice at the park to indicate actually when it is open during these 3 occasions. There seems to be no explanation of the significance of the park available or perhaps it is the poor command of the Chinese language that the author is not able to find it. It would be nice too if there were English signage so that Teochew who is Chinese handicapped can also appreciate the importance of this park.   

Furthermore, at the time when we are seeing the fading of the usage of dialects and its associated heritage as well as the disappearance of burial grounds in Singapore, it might be a good idea to include the replicates of the resting place Seah Eu Chin and other 13 leaders (differentiated by surname) who together established Ngee Ann Kongsi back in 1845. This would be another way of honouring their contributions to the Teochew community here. This would also serve to educate the younger generation about the resting place of their forefathers and the unique characteristic of the Teochew tomb.

Resources  :

1. Nee Ann Kongsi
2. Ngee Ann Kongsi (Infopedia)
3. Teochew Memorial Park 
4. An Introduction To The Culture And History of the Teochews In Singapore 
5. Ngee Ann City